Lynching of Ephraim Grizzard

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Lynching of Ephraim Grizzard

In April 1892, two white sisters in Goodlettsville, Tennessee were attacked. Henry Grizzard, one of the brothers of Ephraim Grizzard, was captured and hanged near Goodlettsville on April 28. Ephraim and another brother, John Grizzard, were arrested and held in Nashville, with two other suspects. Some suspects were released for lack of evidence.

On April 29, 1892, a mob of about 300 white men from Goodlettsville tried to seize Ephraim Grizzard from the Nashville jail. The police fired at the mob, wounding two men, and the mob dispersed, taking Ephraim back to his jail cell.

Early on April 30, a much larger mob gathered in Nashville. Thousands of people came from many towns. The mob dragged Ephraim Grizzard from the jail, carried him to the Woodland Street Bridge over the Cumberland River, and hanged him, then shot his body many times. His corpse was taken back to Goodlettsville and burned.

Ida B. Wells later investigated the case and suggested Ephraim’s killing may have been punishment for interracial contact rather than proven assault. She highlighted the brutality of the act and how little defense was allowed.

In the years that followed, communities began to remember the Grizzard brothers and other victims. In 2017, a church service at Fisk University and a plaque at St. Anselm’s Episcopal Church honored Ephraim and Henry Grizzard. In 2019, remembrance plans were announced to install memorial markers in downtown Nashville to recognize the Grizzard brothers and other lynching victims, as part of efforts to acknowledge this painful part of local history.